“Emma, just because you have your own statue now doesn’t mean you can shirk responsibility,” Mayor Lucy snapped. “I expect you to be attacking the mountain of paperwork sure to be waiting for you.”
My smile faded. “I just left the office. I’m giving a tour to the Goldmans.”
“Another new family?” Mayor Lucy grumbled, barely making eye contact with them. “We’re going to have to deal with these infrastructure issues sooner rather than later.”
I didn’t know how to respond. My fairy friend wasn’t usually so negative, certainly not about Spellbound.
“The Goldmans moved here from Jabberwocky Junction,” I said, persevering. “Apparently, there’s an anti-giant vibe there. I hope we can do better.”
Mayor Lucy snorted. “Good luck with that. Between CRAPI and the insular shifter community, I can’t make any promises.”
Mr. Goldman blinked. “CRAPI?”
“Concerned Residents Against Paranormal Immigration,” Mayor Lucy replied.
“Never mind,” I said, waving my hand airily. “I’m sure the mayor is heading to an important appointment, so we’ll let her carry on.” I wanted to get the Goldmans as far away from Lucy as possible before they decided to hop in their car and flee town.
“I’m going to Glow for a facial,” Mayor Lucy said. “I’ve been staring at my face for the last hour, and I swear I see the beginning stages of a pimple. I can’t lead the town looking like an acne-riddled teenager.” She shot a quick look at Lizzie. “Sorry, honey.”
Holy Unfriendly Fairy. I was beyond mortified. “We won’t keep you then, Lucy. See you around.”
She fluttered to Glow, and I continued to guide the Goldmans around the town square, trying to ignore the poor reception. “Cold Mountain has the best ice cream.”
Lizzie lit up at the mention of ice cream.
“George owns it,” I continued. “He’s currently our only Yeti, but I hope that changes soon.”
“Giants are the minority everywhere,” Mr. Goldman said. “We understand how he feels.”
“We have a low birth rate, you see,” Mrs. Goldman said. “We can’t reproduce at the same rate as, say, shifters. Giants are generally a one-child family.”
“I didn’t realize that,” I said. I learned something new every day. Not that it was difficult in Spellbound. I could be here fifty years and still learn.
“Serendipity is a really nice restaurant,” I said. “Very upscale.” I stopped in front of the next building. “You’ll like this place, Lizzie.”
“Books?” she asked excitedly.
I nodded. “It’s owned by an Amazon called Juliet. She’s a council member and highly knowledgeable.”
We rounded the corner toward Wands-A-Plenty, and I saw Mrs. Goldman admiring the front of the clock tower.
“That’s a lovely feature,” she said.
“It is,” I agreed. “One of my favorite parts of downtown.”
“Animals!” Lizzie cried and ran to the window of Paws-n-Claws. “Look at that gorgeous cat.”
The longhaired Ragdoll cat was gorgeous. She sat on the windowsill, bathing in the sunlight. She knew she was beautiful and had no qualms about showing off.
“Mom, Dad, could we, please?” Lizzie tugged on her mother’s sleeve.
“Maybe once we get settled,” her father said.
“They’ll find you a good match,” I said. “And they have more than just cats. In fact, my owl and I met here.”
“Yes, I’ve seen messenger owls flying around,” Mr. Goldman said.
“Sedgwick is a bit more than that,” I said. “He’s my familiar.”
Lizzie clasped her hands. “Oh, I always loved the idea of my own familiar. I used to have a toy cat called Percy that I pretended was my familiar.”
“It has its pros and cons,” I said truthfully. Sedgwick wasn’t exactly an affectionate sweetheart that purred on my lap.
“Where can we find the Wish Market?” Mrs. Goldman asked. “I understand it’s an amazing place. Jabberwocky Junction didn’t have anything like that.”
“Right around the corner,” I replied. “We can pop in now, if you like.”
We reached the corner of the town square, and I noticed Mr. Goldman become distracted by something behind him. I suddenly got a sinking feeling that I knew exactly what that something was.
“Is that…you?” Mr. Goldman asked, pointing at the Spellbound Day statue.
I cringed. “Must be a random coincidence. I have that generic look…”
At that moment, a familiar voice interjected. “Oh, honey. Are you showing them our statue? You should be proud. It’s a great likeness, don’t you think?”
I wanted to melt into the cobblestone. “Hi, Daniel. I was just in the middle of giving the Goldmans a tour of the town.” I turned to the family. “Mr. and Mrs. Goldman. Lizzie. I’d like you to meet my husband, Daniel Starr.”
They stared at him, awestruck.
“A real angel,” Lizzie whispered.
His brow furrowed. “You don’t have angels where you come from?”
“Not in any town I ever lived in,” Mr. Goldman said.
Daniel scratched the back of his neck. “Is that so? I always assumed we were everywhere, but that I was the only one in Spellbound.”
Lizzie hesitantly reached toward him. “Could I maybe touch your wing?”
Daniel leaned slightly to close the gap between them and allowed Lizzie to stroke the soft, white feathers. I knew they were incredibly soft because I slept next to them every night. Better than any blanket or pillow.
“And you can fly?” Lizzie asked.
“Of course,” Daniel said.
Lizzie tilted her head to examine him more closely. “Why don’t you have a halo?”
Daniel broke into a wide smile. “I do! I have a spell in place for it, though. It kept banging on the top of doorways and such. It must be like what minotaurs go through with their horns.”
Lizzie appeared delighted. “This place is so cool. I can’t wait to start school.”
I heard the clock tower chime and realized I was supposed to be meeting my coven sisters at our secret lair.
“I hate to cut this short, but I’m expected elsewhere and it’s a bit of a hike to get there,” I said. The Goldmans looked so disappointed that I nearly changed my mind.
Daniel’s gaze flitted from me to the family of giants. “How about I continue the tour with them?”
My spirits lifted. “You don’t mind?”
“Why would I mind?” Daniel asked. “I’ve lived here a lot longer than you, haven’t I?”
“He has,” I told the Goldmans. “If anyone can tell you the history of Spellbound, it’s Daniel.”
“Wonderful,” Mrs. Goldman said. “We’re happy to be in your capable hands.” She seemed a little smitten with the handsome angel, not that I blamed her. It was the way I felt from the moment I met him.
“Okay, I need to hustle. No rest for the weary,” I said cheerfully.
Lizzie squinted. “I’m pretty sure it’s no rest for the wicked.”
I stopped and turned back. “Really? How about that? I’ve been saying it wrong my whole life. I’m going to have to spend more time with you, Goldmans. You’re a goldmine of information.”
Lizzie beamed like I’d solved the world’s garbage problem. “Once I get my library card, that goldmine will cover a lot more ground.”
I gave her arm a quick squeeze before I hurried away. “I like your style, Lizzie Goldman.”
I drove Sigmund to the foothills where our secret lair was located. The former remedial witches introduced me to this place when I first joined their class, and we’d been meeting here ever since. Sometimes we did schoolwork. Sometimes we gossiped and watched movies on the magic mirror that doubled as a flat screen television. Thanks to magic, I was able to introduce them to a whole host of good movies. Wonder Woman and Harry Potter quickly became favorites, although the witches took issue with some of the liberties taken by J
.K. Rowling. Laurel was particularly aggrieved by the author’s decision to pair Hermione with Ron instead of Harry.
“I mean, seriously,” Laurel had said at the time. “Hermione is far too sensible to fall in love with a simpleton like Ron.” Laurel was the youngest of our group, but almost always the wisest.
“That’s why it’s fiction,” Millie had said. “In real life, Hermione would roll her eyes at Ron and go back to impressing Harry with her command of magic.”
Today was not a movie day. Today, we sat around the coffee table discussing the proposed changes to Spellbound.
“When did Begonia say she’d be here?” I asked. It wasn’t like her to be late.
Sophie pursed her lips. “She didn’t really give a time. She kind of waved me away, like she had more important things to do. I thought maybe she had a client appointment at Spilled Ink.”
“I guess that’s possible,” I said. Still, it wasn’t like Begonia to be dismissive. She was the sweetest paranormal I knew.
“Has anyone else noticed that she’s been acting strangely?” Sophie asked in a small voice.
The other girls exchanged glances, and Laurel slowly raised her hand.
“Thank the stars. I didn’t want to mention it,” Sophie said. “I felt like a bad friend talking behind her back.”
“It’s only because we’re concerned,” Laurel said. “What did you notice?”
Sophie fiddled with the wand on her lap. “She’s seemed irritable and completely unlike herself. She was rude to Professor Holmes earlier today. I even saw her snap at Demetrius. Can you imagine?”
No, I couldn’t. Begonia worshipped the ground the vampire walked on.
Laurel’s expression grew somber. “She yelled at someone for cutting in front of her in the line at Brew-Ha-Ha. It was Madge.”
A collective gasp escaped us.
“Madge?” I echoed. “The elderly harpy that just moved here with her grandson?”
Laurel nodded.
“She’s practically blind,” I said. “That’s why her grandson doesn’t let her fly anymore.”
“I nearly ran off to hide in the bathroom,” Laurel admitted. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard Begonia raise her voice until that moment.”
“Me neither,” Sophie said.
Millie went over to the basket of voodoo dolls and pulled out the one of Begonia. “Maybe we can do a spell on her doll to make her nice.”
“It won’t work if it’s a spell that’s making her act ornery,” Laurel pointed out.
Their discussion of Begonia made me think of Mayor Lucy’s strange behavior. Could there be a connection?
“We have spell books here,” I said. “Why don’t we do a bit of research and see if we can find any spells that cause this type of behavior? Then we maybe can reverse it. I can’t let Lucy go around insulting the town with all these newcomers. CRAPI is bad enough.”
“Lucy?” Sophie echoed. “The mayor is acting weird, too?”
“Well, Lucy’s always been a little off,” Millie said. “Nobody should get that competitive about poker.”
I ignored Millie’s remark. “Lucy was incredibly rude to this new family of giants,” I said. “It was completely out of character.” I crossed the room and examined the books on the shelves. I plucked one of the older, thicker books and set it on the small round table. “I’ll check this one.”
Laurel and Sophie joined me. They each took a book and began to review the spells.
“Not everything is because of a spell,” Millie snapped. “Maybe they’re just fed up with being sweet doormats.”
“Lucy is not a doormat,” I said firmly.
“Neither is Begonia,” Sophie added. “Just because someone is nice doesn’t make her a doormat. You should try it sometime.”
Millie rolled her eyes in response. “Nice is overrated.”
I flinched when the stone wall shifted and Begonia appeared inside. She stopped short when she noticed us hunched over books.
“I thought we were going to watch a movie,” she said, her feathers already ruffled.
“We’re doing research,” I said. “Want to help?”
She took the seat beside me. “On what? How to wipe the smirk off Avery’s smug face? I nearly hexed her myself in the middle of class.”
Yikes. Sophie and Laurel weren’t kidding. “Mayor Lucy’s been acting strangely, so I’ve asked the girls to help me figure out if there’s a spell that might be causing the personality change.”
Begonia scoffed. “You should look for me, too. Demetrius swears I’m acting like a stone cold witch.”
I tried to appear shocked. “Really? Did he say why?”
“He tried to give me examples, but I ignored him,” she said. “It’s so rude, don’t you think? I never realized what a crybaby he was.”
Demetrius Hunt, a crybaby? Wow. I doubted those words had ever been spoken before.
“Here,” Laurel said, and handed Begonia a book. “Look through here and see if you find any spells or curses that make nice paranormals turn nasty.”
“Maybe Lucy’s cracking under pressure,” Begonia said, thumbing her way through the pages. “It can’t be easy, suddenly being saddled with a town like ours during the most crucial time of its existence. Maybe we should hold another election. Put someone in charge who can handle it.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” I said, and skimmed through my book until I saw a spell called ‘Bittersweet.’ “I found a contender.” I read the description out loud. “This spell will make even the sweetest tongue turn bitter.”
“Does that sound like Lucy?” Begonia asked.
“Yes,” I said. And you.
“What are the key ingredients?” Laurel asked.
“If there’s anything rare, we can ask my mother,” Sophie said. Ariel Gale was a coven mixologist, and Sophie was beginning to delve more into her mother’s line of work.
I scanned the list. “Elderberries, arrowroot, nettles, rhudoberry, fizzlewick seeds.”
“I think they’re all available at Mix-n-Match,” Sophie said. “It’s not like rhudoberry and fizzlewick seeds are commonly used. If someone bought those items recently, it would be a solid lead.”
She was right. “I’ll go tomorrow after my appointment.”
“You have an appointment?” Millie queried.
“A client,” I said. “I have a new case.”
“What’d they do?” Millie asked suspiciously.
“Don’t say it like that,” I admonished her. “We don’t know the story yet.”
“Defaced public property, I bet,” Millie said. “You always seem to defend these destructive weirdos.”
“Millie!” I scolded her.
“Someone should do us all a favor and deface your statue,” Begonia said. Everyone turned and stared at her, but she appeared oblivious. “It’s pornographic and reflects poorly on the whole town, not just you.”
My statute reflected poorly on the whole town? It wasn’t like I’d created it myself.
“And I don’t see why you and Daniel should get a statute,” Begonia continued. “It was a group effort.”
I struggled with my response. On the one hand, I agreed with her. On the other hand, I didn’t ask for the accolades.
“I’m just glad they were able to fix Tiffany,” I said.
Begonia groaned. “You would’ve been better off with a new color. That shade of blue is so last season.”
I snapped the book closed and tried not to react. No one insulted Tiffany and got away with it. The sooner I figured out the spell behind this behavior change, the better—our friendship depended on it.
Chapter 5
A petite brunette stepped inside my office, bang on time. Timidly, she closed the door behind her, her thick hair stretching down the length of her back.
"You must be Michelle Taylor," I said.
Slowly, she turned to face me. She reminded me of a dog, looking at its owner after chewing a favorite shoe. "Micki,” sh
e corrected me. "I go by Micki.”
"Okay then, Micki. Why don't you have a seat?" I waved her forward.
The young woman crept forward and slunk into the chair. "This is a pretty office." She looked around in wonder. "I expected it to be drab." She drummed her fingers nervously on the arms of the chair. "They usually are."
"You mean offices?" I queried. Or did she mean lawyers’ offices? If so, exactly how many times had she needed to be defended?
"Yeah, sure,” she said vaguely. She inclined her head. "You’re also younger than I expected. Lawyers’ offices are usually full of old dudes who smell like mothballs.”
I smiled. "Well, Rochester is an older wizard, and he’s the prosecuting attorney. My predecessor was a vampire, so arguably, he was an old dude, too.”
"I like this town,” Micki said. "You're not going to make me leave already, are you?"
I felt a pang of sympathy. It seemed like Micki had more experience with paranormals kicking her down than lifting her up.
“I’m your defense attorney," I said. "It's my job to help you."
She flashed a relieved smile. "Okay," she said in a small voice.
"It says here that you’re from Sparkle City,” I said, glancing at the file. "I understand that's near Las Vegas."
"I moved to there as soon as I was old enough to leave home," she said. "Been there ever since."
"And what brought you here?" I asked.
She brightened. "Everyone kept talking about this place. It’d been closed off for centuries, and suddenly paranormals could come and go. You guys are, like, famous." She became dreamy-eyed. "And it's true. This place is awesome. It's like stepping into the past. Fey lanterns and jalopies? I've only read about those in books."
I leaned back in my chair. "You like to read?"
She gave me a guarded look. "What? Because I'm a prostitute you think I'm not smart enough to read? Gee, I've never had that judgment before."
I waved her off. "No, no. That wasn't it at all. It's just that I'm a big reader, too, so I get excited when I meet someone else who enjoys books. It doesn’t happen every day.”
Micki relaxed slightly. "Books are what get me through the day. When I've had a difficult client and am exhausted, my favorite thing to do is curl up with a good book. In fact, when I got here, the first place I went was to the library." Her eyes shone. "It’s the coolest place in town. That atrium. I mean, wow."
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